A True African and Global Story of Responsibility, Burnout, and Rediscovering Self
In many homes, there is one person everyone relies on. For Kofi, that role began at age twelve in Winneba. When his father passed away, he became \u201cthe man of the house\u201d overnight. He worked, supported siblings, and sacrificed his own dreams without complaint.
Years later, Kofi had built a respectable life abroad. To his family, he was the success story. To himself, he was exhausted. He had never learned how to rest.
Across cultures, the strongest child often grows into the most burdened adult. Responsibility is praised, but emotional cost is ignored. Kofi felt guilty when he slowed down. His identity was tied to being dependable.
As John Maxwell said, \u201cYou cannot give what you do not have.\u201d Yet Kofi had been giving from an empty place for years. Anxiety followed him. Joy felt unfamiliar. Rest felt undeserved.
Dr. David Rex Orgen highlights that chronic responsibility without emotional release leads to burnout, depression, and resentment. Many adults are carrying childhood roles they were never meant to keep for life.
Kofi\u2019s breakthrough came during a health scare. Forced to pause, he confronted a hard truth. He had never asked who he was beyond responsibility. Therapy helped him redefine strength. He learned that caring for himself did not mean abandoning others.
Audre Lorde\u2019s words became real to him. \u201cCaring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation.\u201d
As the year begins, this story speaks to caregivers, firstborns, leaders, and silent pillars in families and communities. You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to heal. Your value is not measured only by how much you carry.<\/p>\n
Written by Dr. David Rex Orgen<\/a>, Best-Selling Author<\/a> and International Mental Health Expert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A True African and Global Story of Responsibility, Burnout, and Rediscovering Self. In many homes, there is one person everyone relies on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"dorgen_resource_type":[1],"class_list":["post-404","dorgen_resource","type-dorgen_resource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dorgen_resource\/404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dorgen_resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/dorgen_resource"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dorgen_resource\/404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":876,"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dorgen_resource\/404\/revisions\/876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404"},{"taxonomy":"dorgen_resource_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidorgenauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dorgen_resource_type?post=404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}